


heartbeats

by bitterepiphany



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Canon Universe, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pet shopping, Platonic Cuddling, Romance, Self-Doubt, Self-Reflection, Supportive Armin Arlert, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, anime and manga spoilers!!!!, armin and mikasa are besties, armin is a theatre kid fight me, catboy eren, hitch is the biggest aruani shipper, post-time skip spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:16:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29828958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitterepiphany/pseuds/bitterepiphany
Summary: a series of oneshots and requests set in the world of snkcurrent pairings include aruani and arumika <3<3<3
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Hitch Dreyse & Annie Leonhart, Mikasa Ackerman & Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman/Armin Arlert
Comments: 9
Kudos: 63





	1. you're here, and that's enough

**Author's Note:**

> a request for my love unluckyolive <3<3<3
> 
> summary: eren has disappeared, leaving armin and mikasa to struggle alone. mikasa can't cope. armin is there to be her shoulder to cry on
> 
> warnings: a mention of self-harm. nothing is described, but it is implied
> 
> check out my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany)!! 
> 
> you can request things on there or in the comments!!!

The day Eren walked out of the International Forum, they had initially assumed he just wanted to get some fresh air. Only Mikasa’s gaze had lingered on his retreating back for longer than the other’s, prompting a gentle tug on her arm from Armin, who just shook his head softly.

“He’s okay,” he whispered, “He probably just wants some fresh air… we did have a big night last night.” Armin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, still feeling the aftermath of their ‘drunken shenanigans’ - as Hange had put it - in his pounding head and sore throat from the bile that his stomach had upended promptly after he woke up. Though he definitely didn’t have the worst of it; Sasha, Connie and Jean looked barely conscious as they slumped in their seats, cradling their heads in their arms and leaning discreetly on each other’s shoulders.

His words did little to ease the worry in Mikasa’s eyes, but she straightened in her seat, meeting Armin’s eyes briefly and gave a small nod. 

****

It became apparent that Eren did not simply just want some fresh air. When he failed to return to the Forum, the group made haste to leave as soon as it finished, with the hope that he would just be waiting for them outside. What followed was a frantic rush around the city searching - searching shops, the markets, bars, back alleys, anywhere a broody 19-year-old Eldian would be hiding to get away from his responsibilities. They didn’t stop searching until a resigned-looking Levi had to physically force the panicking Hange to listen to Onyankopon; the sun was beginning to set, and it would raise suspicion if the boat they planned to commandeer back to Paradis lingered in the harbour for too much longer. 

Armin was baffled. To say that Eren had literally vanished into thin air was not an exaggeration. The group had lulled into a shocked stupor; they had no idea what to do. Armin could see that Levi, despite his carefully schooled calm expression, was fuming - it couldn’t help that Hange, who, as commander, would face all sorts of awful questioning back home, looked utterly devastated; they had put enough trust in Eren to bring him along and not to do anything rash, and it just blew up in their face.

The person Armin was more concerned about, however, was Mikasa. She had transitioned into that unnaturally calm demeanor he had only seen when she thought Eren was dead all those years ago in Trost, and subsequently whenever he had gotten himself kidnapped by Reiner and Bertholdt, and Rod Reiss, respectively. She had searched for him with a frightening intensity, barely uttering a single word the entire time, that  _ look _ ever present on her face.

Now Mikasa stood on the docks, facing back towards the city, eyes roaming over the buildings, as if Eren would simply appear in a doorway and stride out to join them. Armin carefully walked over to her side. She didn’t acknowledge him initially, continuing her silent search of the city landscape, but Armin knew that she could tell he was there. 

Armin felt a wave of guilt rise up in his chest as he looked at her. What if he hadn’t stopped her from following him out of the assembly hall? There’d be no way Eren could have escaped Mikasa if she had been there with him. He should have known, should have seen that  _ something  _ was amiss with Eren, should have seen the signs somehow. But there was nothing he could do now.

He reached out and touched her arm. “Mikasa?”

She closed her eyes for a moment. Mikasa turned to him. For a moment, Armin saw behind the blank look in her eyes. He saw the _raw_ _pain_ in them, the terror at being left behind, _once again_. Suddenly, he was back atop Wall Rose, steam burns stinging painfully on his cheeks, struggling to find the words to say to comfort a younger, scared Mikasa as she came to terms with the fact there was nothing she could do to get Eren back this time.

Armin said nothing for a few moments, and just looked at her. She seemed to crack even more under his gaze, her face twisting, lines of worry and misery forming, her eyes betraying her internal conflict. 

“Armin…” Her voice was barely a whisper, hardly rising above the gentle sounds of waves beneath the dock they stood upon. “What am I supposed to do? Wh-why did he leave? What did I-”

“Mikasa,” he interrupted, knowing where her thoughts were taking her. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I promise. We’ve done all we can, and -” he reached out again and took her hand “- now I guess... all we can do is hope that Eren knows what he’s doing.”

Mikasa stared at their hands, mouth opening to protest, but he squeezed her fingers firmly; she looked at him again, before her shoulders sagged. “I guess so,” she breathed. Finally, she looked away from the city skyline and turned to face the rest of the group. Just in time, as Onyankopon appeared on the deck on the boat, calling them over.

“We’ve only got thirty minutes to get out of here before they start asking questions!” he yelled, “I’m sorry, but we either leave Eren here, wherever he is, or we leave you all here!”

Hange looked over them all, their eyes lingering on Mikasa with concern. They glanced at Armin, who nodded slightly. “Ok guys, it’s time to go...” they announced heavily, “There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Quit your moping, brats.” Levi glared at them all in turn. His eyes softened slightly. “Let’s just go home.”

They traipsed up the gangplank, Jean, Connie and Sasha heading below deck immediately, finding themselves prone to seasickness due to the unfamiliar, jarring feeling of the boat rocking over waves. Armin’s hand was still linked with Mikasa’s, and she trailed behind him slowly, head hanging miserably. Armin found the movement of sea travel to be soothing, the rolling waves fascinating to look at. Mikasa and Levi didn’t seem to mind either, but Armin suspected it was due to their Ackerman genes that kept them from getting an upset stomach. 

Armin led his subdued friend over to some crates overlooking the bow of the ship, as Onyankopon, Hange and Levi called out to each other as they prepared to set off. They took a seat, Armin’s eyes tracking a sea bird as it glided on the breeze over their heads. 

Mikasa was quiet, but Armin could see the shaking of small tremors in her hunched shoulders. He ran his thumb softly over her knuckles, every callous and scar lining her palm pressed up against his own.

He didn’t let go of Mikasa’s hand the entire trip back.

****

Months passed, and the only indication they received that Eren wasn’t dead in some ditch was a singular letter, - detailing nothing much but the fact that they should entrust Zeke with everything - arriving at the island a few days after they returned. After Armin and Mikasa had confirmed that, yes that was indeed Eren’s handwriting, they had been swamped in meetings with a whole range of officials ranging from Queen Historia to the damned Reeves Company, all demanding how on earth they had  _ fucked up so badly  _ that they had allowed their most vital asset and bargaining chip of the Founding Titan to simply  _ run away _ . 

Being stationed in seperate divisions following the incident - Armin in HQ assisting Hange with strategy and official business; Mikasa in the field training new Scouts recruits - Armin scarcely had the chance to see his best friend. He was concerned for her, and if those few days after receiving that letter were any indication of her mental health, he could only imagine how she was doing at the moment. 

As soon as she had read it, Mikasa had become concerningly withdrawn. She only appeared among the group if she had to for meetings, and as far as Armin was aware, she hid in her room any other time. He had tried to talk to her, but she never opened her locked door or was evasive and distant with him during short breaks in between meetings.

He lost his chance to really try and talk to her when they were separated, and now three months had passed, work just keeping him glued to a desk or at Hange’s side. But he resolved to ask for some leave to join Mikasa, who was assisting Levi near Shiganshina in the wildernesses of Wall Maria. 

He approached Hange’s office, running over his excuses on how he was going to convince them to let him go. He resolved to just tell them the truth, since Hange would likely see through any feeble lie he made up. Armin reached their office, and knocked on the door.

“Come on in!”

Hange was perched atop their desk, examining a wad of paper. Upon seeing who it was, they grinned and hopped down.

“Armin! I was just about to go find you, did you look over those reports from the new recruits near Karanes?” Hange walked behind their desk, rummaging around for a second and pulling out a tin. They opened it up, and Armin spotted what looked like biscuits. Hange offered him one, and he took it.

He bit into it, letting the sugary taste fill his mouth. “Yeah, I saw those reports, I’ll bring you my notes on them after this.” He rubbed the back of his neck, scratching at his undercut. “But I wanted to ask you about something else.”

Hange nodded, mouth full. “Oh yeah, go on?”

“Honestly? I know it’s been a couple of months since we went to Marley, but I’m really worried about Mikasa,” he explained, “I could tell she wasn’t doing too well back then, and I just don’t know… she’s never been this long without being with him, and - “

Hange waved their hand at him, cutting him off. “Say no more Armin, I understand, I understand.” They bit into another biscuit thoughtfully. “Levi hasn’t said much about her in his updates apart from standard stuff, but I’m sure he hasn’t had much luck in getting her to open up either… Do you want to head out to them tomorrow?”

“Oh!” Armin was surprised at how willingly they agreed. “I mean if there’s anything else you need me to do before I go -”

“No, no, it’s fine Armin, seriously,” Hange insisted, “I mean I hate to lose such a diligent worker like you, but I know you’re probably the only one who can get Mikasa back to her old self… well, as much as she can without Eren…”

Armin smiled, nodding. “Thank you so much Hange, really.”

Hange just ushered him out of their office, stuffing another biscuit into his hand.

He began to walk down the hall. “Oh Armin, before you go!”

Armin turned back. Hange grinned mischievously, a glint in their eye. “How is she? You know -” they gestured to the ground, finger pointing downward.

“O-oh well -” Armin blushed, hand tugging at his hair. “Uh, she’s-”

Hange cackled, waving him off.

****

The trip to Wall Maria took him less than a day by horse, and he arrived at the Southern Survey Corps training grounds at sundown. Jean, who alternated his time between this camp and the eastern one near Karanes, rode out to meet him as he arrived, and he updated him on the state of things. Apparently, Captain Levi had the recruits renovating an abandoned barn, and was even harsher with his cleaning regimes than he was when they were part of his squad. Jean chuckled as he recounted Mikasa’s attempts to give the kids an easier time by sneaking in extra rags, changing water discreetly, and helping them carry around the splintered planks of wood, much to Levi’s annoyance.

They were rubbing down their horses Jean sighed. “You know, sometimes I miss those days when we were all together in Levi Squad.”

Armin paused, tilting his head thoughtfully. “Well, we still technically are part of his squad, but…”

“It’s not the same,” Jean nodded, “Not when we’re split up all over the place like this. Heh, remember when we were on the run and had to scamper around in the wilderness for a couple of days?”

Armin chuckled, recalling how Levi still somehow managed to get on their asses about keeping themselves clean while they slept huddled together under trees in the dirt.

“Yeah… somehow, those days seem more laid back than what we have to do now, in a way,” he said, making his way to the mess hall with Jean. “Oh, by the way, how’s Mikasa doing?”

Jean, who’s hand was reaching to open the door, paused. He looked over at Armin, sighing. “She’s the reason you came, right?” he asked.

Armin nodded.

“Well, she’s -“ he ran his fingers through his hair tiredly “- she’s not okay. She tries to hide it, but we can all tell that she’s barely coping. She won’t open up to us, or anyone, not even Levi.” He looked over at Armin again and punched him gently on the arm. “But you’re here now, you little silver tongued snake!”

Armin snorted, stepping inside the hall behind Jean. The recruits were still at dinner, and chatter ceased abruptly as they looked over at the new arrivals. Armin and Jean spotted Levi and Mikasa eating on the other side of the hall, and they raised their hands in greeting. 

“Oi! Brats!” Levi’s voice rang across the room. “Where’s your respect? An important guest just arrived and you just ignore him?” He strode to Armin’s side and gestured to him. “This is Officer Armin Arlert, he’ll be here for a few weeks to help you twats out, okay?”

The sound of wood scraping on wood filled the room as the recruits hurried to their feet. They saluted. “Sir!”

Armin saluted back, still not used to being a higher rank than these kids who weren’t much younger than him. He turned to Levi. “It’s good to see you Captain.” The older man just nodded at him, glancing at his shoes. 

“You didn’t track in dirt, did you?” Armin shook his head, smiling. Levi looked over at Jean, who was getting food. “Tsk... Jean! Get Arlert a plate too!”

Armin made his way to the table, where Mikasa sat. She looked up at him, eyes wide. They just looked at each other for a moment, Armin trying to see how she was before he said anything.

“Mika -”

She jumped up suddenly, and wrapped Armin in a tight hug. The tension left his body, and he hugged her back, smiling as she rested her cheek on top of his head. “Hey… I missed you,” he mumbled.

Her arms tightened around him. “I missed you too, Armin.”

****

The night had passed without event, Armin, Jean, and Mikasa chatting about what they had been up to the past few months, laughing together when Levi roused on the recruits for making a mess of the food hall. They helped clean up, Armin scrubbing dishes, when Levi approached him and pulled him aside. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Look Armin, I couldn’t say anything to you right in front of her, but I know why you’re here and I’m glad you came.” Levi sighed and crossed his arms. “She’s not good, and she’s a shitty-ass liar too, so everyone can tell. I’ve tried, but she won’t tell me jack, so all I can really do is try and keep her busy out here.”

Armin nodded understandingly. “It’s okay Captain, I’m sure it's better for her to be doing things rather than just… being alone with her thoughts,” he mused, “But I’ll talk to her, see if I can make her feel any better.”

“I’m holding you to that, brat,” Levi groused. He jabbed a finger out at Armin’s chest. “I won’t let you leave till she’s back in somewhat working order, you hear me?”

“Yes sir!”

Levi snorted, gracing Armin with one of his rare half-smiles, before ushering him back into the hall to continue cleaning. Armin hummed. He supposed Levi cared about her in his own, special way - after all, they were each other’s only family left, and it couldn’t have felt good for Levi to see the only soldier who came close to his strength in such a state.

He returned to washing the dishes, and couldn’t help the warmth spreading through his chest as Levi smacked Jean across his head for disrupting a massive dust pile and causing all the recruits to sneeze. He caught Mikasa’s eye and that warmth only grew when she cracked a grin at him he couldn’t help but return.

_ I guess some things never change, huh? _

  
  


****

Mikasa walked him to where he would be sleeping in the officer’s quarters after the recruit’s curfew. They paused in front of the door. Armin glanced back at her. That closed off look had returned to her features. “Come in,” he offered as he turned the handle.

“‘Kay”

The room was fairly spacious, with a decently-sized bed, a cupboard, and a desk in the corner. Armin flicked the lamp on and it filled the room with a soft amber glow. Shucking off his jacket and shoes as Mikasa did the same, he clambered onto the bed, looking up at her and patting the covers next to him. She seemed to hesitate slightly, before sighing minutely and settled next to him. 

Realising he had no idea how to start this conversation with her without bringing up really sensitive topics, they sat in silence for a while. Then, Armin felt her slender fingers brush lightly through his hair, rubbing his bangs between her digits.

“Remember when I used to braid this for you when it was longer?”

Armin smiled, recalling the days before he cut his hair shorter, and Mikasa would sit him down and braid it back for him during times when he couldn’t get a trim and it would start to get in the way. 

“Yeah,” he murmured, “You were always really good at that kind of stuff…”

She hummed. “Sometimes I miss your old hair..”

“Really?” He scoffed. “I don’t, it was ridiculous! I looked like a blonde coconut!”

She chuckled at that, tousling his hair roughly and eliciting a small squeak of protest from his mouth. “It suited you though, you were cute.”

Armin blushed slightly, peeking at her shyly. Mikasa was beautiful. Always had been. She possessed this fluid elegance that graced her movements, making it seem like everything she did came so naturally to her. Armin wasn’t afraid to admit that for a time after he first met Mikasa - back at the tender age of nine - he had become pretty infatuated with her. Maybe it was her exotic beauty, or the way she always was willing to patiently listen to him ramble on about the books he read, or maybe it was the fact that she was so willing to stand up and fight for a small, weakling boy like him, that she barely knew, but he became smitten almost instantly. 

He had never pursued his feelings, knowing immediately after a few weeks of being friends with her how she felt about Eren. The crush had lingered for a few years though, fading into the background, and eventually snuffing out when they joined the Cadets. He still harboured his feelings of admiration towards her, and remained super happy whenever they spent time together. Rather than protest Mikasa’s motherly tendencies towards them like Eren did, Armin accepted it instead, embraced it even, understanding that she just wanted to protect the remaining family she had left in this world. She always seemed to be grateful for that.

Now Mikasa was as good as his sister, and he hated seeing the way that her smiles faded off her face too fast, hated the hollow look in her eyes as she retreated behind that mask of loneliness and helplessness.

“Mikasa,” he murmured. She looked at him. “You need to talk to me.”

She averted her eyes quickly, turning her face. There was a pause. “Talk about what?”

Armin frowned. Slowly, so not to startle her, he reached his hand out and caught her cheek, turning it back to face him. Their eyes met. “You know saying that won’t work on me right?” She just looked at him, eyes wide. He could feel her tremble under his fingers. “I’m  _ here,  _ Mikasa.”

And just like that, the dam broke. Her face crumpled, and broken sobs ripped out of her throat. She collapsed into him, head landing on his chest, and he gathered her into his arms and just held her. Armin adjusted so she was curled up in his lap, her head buried in the crook of his shoulder, hands balled so tightly in his shirt he wouldn’t be surprised if he found it ripped later. He settled his chin atop her head, fingers stroking the hair on the nape of her neck, slowly, soothingly. 

Armin let her cry, allowed her to let out those body-shaking sobs, letting her release what must be months of awful, pent-up feelings. Slowly, her tears subsided, leaving her sniffly and trembling. Armin rubbed small, gentle circles on her back, and she shifted, raising her face off his chest and wiped at her eyes and nose.

Mikasa glanced sheepishly up at him, mouth parting to form words. Armin’s finger pressed against her lips, stifling them. “Don’t apologise,” he said quietly, “It’s okay.”

Her breath hitched awkwardly, and she swiped at her eyes again. “I-I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” Mikasa whispered thickly. “I feel like it’s all my fault, like I should have _done_ _something_ , _said something_ , be-before he-” she broke off again, new tears leaking down her cheeks. 

“Hey, hey…” Armin soothed, thumbing away the liquid on her face. “I told you before, you did - you’re doing - everything you could.” He lightly brushed her hair out of her eyes, leaned forward, and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Mikasa…” he mumbled against her skin, “You’re here, and that’s enough.” 

Her shoulders trembled, and she buried her face against his body again, tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt. Armin held her like before, until her body relaxed against his, and her breathing evened out. She had fallen asleep.

Careful not to wake her, Armin lay down, keeping her wrapped in his arms, and reached behind him to flick off the lamp. Darkness swept across the room, and Armin settled against her, burying his face in her hair.

Mikasa had always smelt of home, of the scent of fresh-baked goods wafting down the back of a Shiganshina alley-way, stone streets wet with the rain from an afternoon shower, of a crackling fireplace in the winter, and of exotic market spices that would make his nose tingle in curious ways. He closed his eyes, breathing her in, breathing  _ home  _ in, allowing her to sweep him up in it, the steady rhythm of her breathing lulling him to sleep. 

****

The weeks passed in a happy blur following that night. Mikasa emerged from her cocoon of misery and returned, for the most part, to her normal self. Armin spent almost all his time with her, just enjoying each other’s company, letting themselves forget some of the outside worries, focusing instead on the recruits, Levi, and the rotating members of their squad that came to train with them. Both Sasha and Connie had arrived, stayed for a few days, and been on their way respectively, and had both been ecstatic to hear that Mikasa was doing better. Sasha was so happy she had hoisted Armin over her shoulder and paraded him around, yelling about how he was a magician.

Ever since that first night, where the recruits had witnessed them hug openly, whispers and giggles followed them around whenever they were together - which was basically all the time. Their openly affectionate nature towards each other didn’t help dispel the rumors that Armin was Mikasa’s lover, either. He heard enough envious groans from both male and female recruits alike that sometimes he teased them by making a show of linking his and Mikasa’s arms together as they walked, or randomly giving her surprise hugs from behind. They just laughed it off together, even more amused with the fact that Levi would ‘tsk’ loudly in annoyance whenever he heard the teenagers gossiping.

But their little bubble of contentedness would pop occasionally, and the reality of their situation would sink in. It truly hit Armin hard how badly Mikasa had been struggling when she approached him one afternoon, and wordlessly handed him a small box. His eyes widened when he realised what it contained, the sight of the small metal blades breaking his heart. He felt tears prick his eyes, and he pulled her into a long, bone-crushing hug, only letting her go when Levi had approached them, worried that something had happened.

Mikasa came to his room on some nights, quietly slipping through the door with her cat-like grace, padding across the floor and curling up under the covers with him. Armin asked no questions, and they rarely talked on these occasions; he would just wrap his arms around her and they’d breathe each other in, presence alone being enough to soothe them to sleep. 

Duty called though, and the day he had to return to HQ came quicker than either of them would have liked. But as they said their goodbye’s Armin held her close and promised he would visit more often, even looking over at Levi and saying he’d try and bring Hange along, much to the older man's delight - if his exasperated snort was anything to go by. 

“I’ll come up too,” Mikasa said, linking her fingers with his as he mounted his horse. “It’ll be good to take these kids out, and I’m sure even old grandpa over there is getting sick of this place.”

“Oi brat, I heard that!”

Armin chuckled, squeezing her hand. “ _ Promise me _ you’ll find me if you ever need to talk about anything?”

“Promise.”

She smiled and waved as he rode away, remaining in the same spot, watching him as she grew smaller and smaller over his shoulder, until she disappeared from sight entirely.

****

Mikasa made good on her promise to visit, and she and Armin spent the months alternating travelling north and south to visit for a few days at a time in between work. She seemed to enjoy her time at HQ, sometimes showing the recruits around and helping Levi and Hange assign them tasks, or just hung out with Armin in his office. She helped him with his work on occasion, or she would clear the floor and start doing push-ups or something similar while Armin read over reports, much to his bewilderment and her amusement. Other times they would just hang out; play silly games; sneak food in and eat; or they would sprawl on the floor and he would read books out loud to her.

He took her to see Annie in the basement once. She just stood there, gazing up at the crystallised girl, eyes contemplative. She didn’t say anything, and simply watched as Armin went through his usual routine, recounting what he had been up to since he had visited last, reading snippets from the newspaper, and reciting random facts about things that popped into his head. Hitch wasn’t in today, so it was just him and Mikasa. Armin could feel Mikasa’s gaze on him as he went through the motions, and he struggled to look her in the eye after they exited the basement, afraid to think about what sort of truths he would find in her steel-grey eyes.

It was during one of those lazy afternoons when they were leant up against each other, Armin reading some fantasy novel about a prince going on a quest to save a princess, when Hange suddenly burst through the door, looking frantic. Armin jerked and looked up at them, only to feel his stomach drop as he saw what they clutched in their hand.

A letter. And Armin recognised the messy scrawl on the envelope.

****

So then they were huddled together on the rocking airship, Armin shifting uncomfortably in the new ODM gear. He thought about what he was going to in just over an hour. He thought about all the people he was about to kill. 

Mikasa looked over at him, and he knew that she was aware of his thoughts. She shifted closer to him, covering one of his hands with her own. He looked up at her, and tried to smile reassuringly.

“Armin,” she said suddenly, breaking their silence. “I will stay with you, if you want me to. I can support you with what you have to do.”

His eyes locked on to hers with surprise. “What?” he exclaimed, “You can’t do that, you need to be there to take out the Warhammer!” He gritted his teeth and squeezed her hand. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. The plan should hold out fine. Plus, Eren’ll end up doing something stupid and dying if you aren’t there to help him out.”

Mikasa huffed slightly at that, a small smile gracing her lips. Her hands reached up and parted his bangs, and she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “We’re here, together, and that’s enough, right?”

Armin looked at her, his sister, his best friend, his rock, his one constant throughout their crazy lives. He smiled.

“Yeah. Together.”


	2. pawprints

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> annie decides she wants to buy a cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! i decided to merge the two oneshots i had already posted into one big multi-chapter fic, just so we don't end up with a series thats a million works long :)))
> 
> again, feel free to request things in the comments or on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany)
> 
> thanks for reading!!

Annie suppressed the urge to sneeze as the combination of the pet store’s scents invaded her nose; a vaguely unpleasant mixture of that distinct ‘furry animal’ smell, the sharp tang of disinfectant and bleach, and something that reminded Annie of straw, strangely. 

She adjusted quickly though, and wandered further into the shop, smiling noncommittally in response to the greeting of the young girl behind the counter. She surveyed the room. This was the third pet store they had been to that week, in search for the perfect companion following their conversation the previous weekend. 

****

Annie had been the one to bring up the subject, surprisingly. The thought struck her in the afternoon randomly as she was lazing around their living room, when it occurred to her that there was a gap beside the fireplace that would  _ perfectly  _ fit a cat tree. The idea didn’t repulse her, as many of her’s often did. She usually left the life decision-making stuff to Armin, finding that any period of time surpassing half an hour discussing something as menial as where to buy bedsheets or how to arrange the kitchen would lull her into an exhaustive stupor, without fail. 

The last time they went to a homeware store together, searching for an infuriatingly long amount of time for the perfect set of  _ dinner plates,  _ of all things - “They match the bowls, see!”, Armin had insisted - it had ended with Armin dangerously close to having said plates shattered over his head, and a terrified looking cashier who’s hands didn’t stop trembling as he scanned their items, spooked by the ‘ _ I have been here to two hours too long’  _ look on Annie’s face. She and Armin had agreed afterwards that he would do the rest of that kind of stuff on his own, with the occasional help from Mikasa to carry things around. 

After waiting another hour and finding that the idea still persisted, she got up and searched for her boyfriend. After poking her head into a few empty rooms, she found him in the study at his desk, frowning at a document with a pen pressed up against his lips. He must be working on his paper for some fancy job application his old professor Hange had heard through the grapevine and recommended him for. Knowing he was in that type of zone where he barely registered his surroundings, she tapped on the doorframe, not wishing to startle him. 

He didn’t react at first. She leaned on the frame and knocked a little more forcefully. Armin jerked, blinking, and looked over at her.

“Annie!”

His face broke into that stupidly large, happy grin that he always wore when he saw her. Annie blushed unwillingly at the sight, automatically averting her eyes. He never failed to make her stomach lurch when he looked at her like that.

He leant back in his chair. She heard his spine crack as his back bent over the frame. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Oh, I wanted to run an idea by you,” she said, walking over to him. Armin pushed himself away from the desk, giving her room to climb onto his lap. His arms encircled her, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her exposed collarbone. “I’m all ears,” he murmured.

“Well…” She hesitated, struggling to formulate the ideas in words, despite its clarity in her head. “I was thinking… um… well I was sitting on the couch, and…”

Armin watched her patiently as she stuttered, eyes unblinking. A soft smile played upon his lips. 

_ God, just say it straight Annie. _

“I wanna get a pet. Uh.... a cat, in particular.”

Her cheeks reddened immediately, and she ducked her face into his shoulder, finding the whole thing embarrassing for some reason. Armin gently pushed her up straight so he could look in her eyes. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. Then he grinned. “Really?”

Why was she blushing so much? Still staring firmly at his shoulder, she nodded. 

Annie squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly lifted into the air. Armin pushed out of his chair and spun her around, humming happily. He set her down, hands sliding to rest on her shoulders, and beamed. He began to talk excitedly.

“Ooh yay, I’m so happy to hear that Annie! Do you want a girl or a boy cat? Should we buy one as a kitten or get a rescue? Hmm, we’d have to get litter if we don’t want it to go outside, but that’s kinda gross to clean… oh! Do you have any colour preference? Or the length of fur, or…”

He trailed off, blushing as he realised he was rambling. Annie just smiled and reached up to brush his bangs back off his forehead. 

“We’ll figure it out”

****

So here Annie was now, scanning the store for the cat section. She had been particularly partial to getting a rescue, feeling a kind of kinship with the abandoned animals. But their local shelter didn’t have any cats at the moment, specialising in dogs more, and Annie didn’t feel like travelling and searching for another one hours away. So Armin had eventually convinced her that buying a kitten from a pet shop would be just as good - “It means that this one won’t ever need to go into a shelter!”, he had said - and they began kitten searching. 

They had gotten the general supplies - things like food and water bowls, a bed, a tree (which fit  _ perfectly  _ into that space that Annie had imagined it to), toys, and litter from the other stores they visited. But they lacked the essential - the kittens themselves. Armin had to make some calls, and they finally found a shop in a neighbouring town that had a litter come in a few days ago. 

Annie walked past the dog collars, looking for the enclosures.

“Do you think they’re over here…?” 

She trailed off as she glanced to her side, realising Armin had completely disappeared. She frowned, glancing around. He was nowhere to be seen. Annie huffed. Trust  _ him _ to get distracted in a place like this. She had an idea about where he might be, and set off to find him. 

As she made her way to the other side of the shop, a sharp yip to her left caused her to jump. Her head whipped around, startled, but she soon relaxed when she saw what made the noise. Annie was not very comfortable with dogs in general - there had been incidents with shitty neighbours and their untrained mutts throughout her childhood - but puppies were different. They were just too small and soft to do any damage, and she found the way they chewed on your hands with their little teeth to be endearing. 

A mish-mash of different puppies rumbled around in an open enclosure next to her. Annie crouched down and watched them as they played for a moment. A curious daschund pup came up to her, and she smiled as it sniffed and licked at her fingers through a crack in the enclosure’s glass. 

_ I wouldn’t mind getting a dog with Armin if they stayed this size forever.  _

_ Right. Armin. _

Annie stood back up, spotting the section she thought he would be in. Her suspicions proved right as she turned down the fish aisle, spotting her boyfriend crouched in front of one of the tanks, gazing at the little fish swimming around with a curious, awestruck shine in his eyes.

They already owned some fish. Annie didn’t think she would have ever been able to  _ stop _ him from getting some, the crazy ocean nut he was. She let Armin take care of them though, terrified she would kill them immediately if she tried to do anything with them at all, satisfied with occasionally admiring their bright colours as they swam around in their tank. 

She approached her boyfriend, placing a hand on his head. He looked up at her, that starry-eyed look still on his face. 

“C’mon Armin, you know we aren’t here for more fish,” she reprimanded gently, running her fingers through his hair. 

“I know, I know, but I can’t help it…” He pouted his lips, that puppy-dog look entering his eyes. “They’re just so cool!”

Annie chuckled lightly, shaking her head. “You know that doesn’t work on me Arlert,” she said, tugging on his hair to hide the fact that that look _ did indeed _ work on her very well. Armin’s face melted back into that easy smile and he stood up, catching the hand on his head, pressing his lips against her fingers. “Sure, Annie,” he replied. “Ok, let’s go look at these kittens.”

He laced their fingers together and led her to the back right corner of the shop. “I spotted the sign over here on our way in,” he explained as an in-built wall enclosure came into view. Annie hummed. 

Something caught in her chest as she spotted the kittens. 

There were four of them, all tiny, little balls of fluff with stubby legs and wispy tails. Two were dark brown, one was ginger, and the last one was cream coloured. The brown ones were snuggled on a suspended platform sleeping, the ginger one was sniffing at a bowl of food, but the cream one was tottering around on its little legs, and came up to the glass and stared directly at Annie. 

Almost trance-like, Annie approached the glass and crouched down, locking eyes with the kitten. It had pale blue eyes, like hers, and it tracked her finger as she raised it up and hovered it over the glass near its head. She vaguely heard Armin walk over to one of the employees and requested if they could hold the kittens. Annie moved her finger around, entranced as the kitten pounced about, trying to catch it, its little paws pressed up against the glass. 

“Excuse me miss,” came a voice from behind her. Annie turned to see Armin and a female shop assistant with a pair of keys in her hands. “Would you like to hold one of the kittens?”

“Oh, yes please,” Annie replied, stepping back to allow the girl to unlock a side door and step inside the enclosure. 

“This one?” The girl pointed at the cream kitten Annie was playing with a minute ago. Annie nodded, and watched as the girl gently lifted the small cat into her arms and walked back to the couple. Carefully, the girl placed the kitten into Annie’s outstretched hands.

Annie gazed down at the tiny animal in her hold, feeling it squirm slightly, paws pressing into her bare arms, its long whiskers brushing against her skin. She bobbed it up and down slightly, almost automatically, as if she were carrying a small child. It wriggled a little more, before finally settling and resting its small head on her wrist. Annie watched it, wide-eyed, hardly daring to breath, lest she disturb it. Her fingers began to stroke through its soft, downy fur. Her breath hitched as its sides began to vibrate. It was purring.

Annie glanced up at Armin, a smile forming on her lips. He was grinning, looking very pleased. He approached them quietly, and bent down slightly to face the kitten. “Hey there little one,” he whispered. He offered his fingers for it to sniff; it regarded him with its big eyes and let out a tiny mewl. Armin’s smile grew even bigger. “Yeah, I know…” He looked up at the shop assistant. “Is it male or female?” he questioned.

“Female, sir.”

Annie stared down at the kitten, who seemed to be falling asleep in her arms, purring all the while. Armin looked at her. “I think we’ve found the one, huh? You two even match!”

Annie didn’t think she could leave this kitten behind if she tried. “I love her,” she murmured. She lowered her face, pressed it into the silky fur, and breathed in her scent. Unbeknownst to her, Armin smiled and grinned at the shopkeeper, nodding. He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture of the new pair.

****

A sharp yowl cut through the air, wrenching Annie out of her fitful slumber. She lay there silently, waiting, hoping, praying that it wouldn’t continue. Of course, her wishes were ignored. Another cutting meow ran through the house. Annie groaned, rolling herself onto Armin’s chest.

“Armin,” she hissed, “I swear to  _ god _ if that  _ thing  _ doesn’t stop whining  _ right now _ , I will take it back to where it came from.”

She felt his arms wrap around her and his face nestle in her hair. He mumbled something incoherently, chest rising as he sighed. The  _ thing  _ in question let loose another cry into the night.

“Armin!”

He sighed again, arms tightening, then relaxing as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Annie followed suit, watching him as he rubbed his face tiredly. “Just ignore it,” he grumbled, “She’ll stop eventually.”

Annie shoved his shoulder weakly. “What?” he whined. 

“Armin, I’ve woken up five times in, what - “ she glanced at her phone “- two hours, and if I don’t get solid,  _ unbroken _ sleep soon I’m… god, I'm gonna be fucked in the morning.”

As if on cue, their new pet, who had been named Donut on the car trip back home, cried out. It sounded like she was right outside their bedroom door. Armin cringed and Annie buried her face into a pillow. 

“Alright,” her boyfriend huffed, throwing back the covers. “Let’s try this then.”

He walked over to the door and swung it open, cueing a surprised sounding meow from the kitten, who looked up at the man in the doorway.

Armin bent down and gathered Donut into his arms. “Hey little one. What’s wrong? Are you lonely out there all by yourself?”

Keeping the door cracked open, he padded back to their bed, setting the kitten down onto the covers. He settled beneath the sheets again, watching as the cat began to sniff around, making soft, squeaky noises. Donut’s head jumped up as Annie shifted, locking onto her. She mewed loudly, before bounding over to Annie, and promptly began to crawl all over her body. 

“Aagh, no don’t step there, no- ow ow  _ claws _ , Donut, stop-”

Armin laughed, making the bed shake, which only served to aggravate the kitten further into her scramblings. “Seems like she just missed her mummy, huh?”

Annie protested as she felt tiny pinpricks sink into her skin again. She grabbed the offender and gently placed her next to her chest, running a hand over her tiny body. This seemed to calm the kitten, and Donut settled and curled up, shoving her soft head beneath Annie’s chin. Vibrations ran through her, as she began to purr lightly.

“Ah, I can’t stay mad at you if you do that,” she mumbled, glancing up at Armin, who seemed to have fallen asleep again already. “Hmm… I guess you’ll have to stay with us until you get used to this place then…” Content, with warmth spreading through her body from the soft bundle of fluff nestled against her, Annie drifted off.

They slept through the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. [this](https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/images/classifieds/2017/03/28/1549878/large/815ebf8afb1159dad869ef7ade54b146.png) is what i imagine donut to look like


	3. haircuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hitch is a good friend. a fantastic one, in her opinion. so what sort of friend would she be if she didn’t help poor annie out with that boy she has obvious heart eyes for?
> 
> luckily for her, armin needs a haircut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a request for somsss!! <3<3<3
> 
> friendship with EMA ended, now i only stan AAH ~
> 
> leave requests in the comments, [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany), and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany)!!

Annie Leonhardt was not a subtle starer. She never looked at anyone for longer than a few seconds at a time, even during conversations, so Hitch found it rather amusing when she discovered her friend rather obviously ogling a certain blonde head of hair in front of them for more than three-quarters of their advanced biology class. 

Hitch Dreyse was tempted to chide the girl for not paying attention in class; their half-yearlies were coming up rather quickly, after all, but she doubted Annie would listen to her. But Hitch was rather curious as to why _this_ boy in particular had caught someone like Annie Leonhardt’s attention. She waited until their professor Hange gave them a few minutes to pack up, leaned over, and rested her elbow on Annie’s shoulder. 

“So, Armin Arlert, huh?”

Annie’s reaction was immediate. Her head snapped around to face Hitch, her usually half-lidded eyes stretched wide with shock. A faint pink blush was spreading over her cheeks.

“W-what?” Hitch’s grin stretched wider at Annie’s attempt at sounding nonchalant. 

“C’mon Annie, don’t act dumb,” she teased, “It’s pretty obvious when you stare you know.”

Annie flushed a deeper red, turning away abruptly. She began to shove her things in her bag roughly. She stood, brushing her bangs behind her ear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled, striding away quickly as soon as the bell rang.

“Ooh, Annie, darling,” Hitch crooned at her retreating back, “You’re not a very good liar..!”

Chuckling, Hitch barely caught the vulgar gesture Annie threw at her behind her back. She slowly began to pack her things away.

Hitch and Annie had an _interesting_ friendship, to say the least. While Hitch was bubbly, outgoing, and popular (at least that's what she _thought, well hoped_ people thought of her), Annie, decidedly, was _not_. Loner, was a pretty good word to describe the girl. She was quiet, unassuming, and pretty much kept to herself. In their freshman and sophomore years of highschool, Annie was one of the few kids who never attended a party, though not because she was disliked or unpopular; rather, she was always invited, but she just never showed up. But following Hitch’s discovery after an interesting English project together that Annie was, underneath that cold exterior, actually quite an interesting person, she made an effort to befriend the girl and bring her to social gatherings. 

Hitch was proud enough to have the honour of being the person who brought Annie to the first whole year party of junior year, and since then, they had maintained an unconventional friendship. It had served useful for Hitch, as Annie was pretty smart and, surprisingly, skilled at forging signatures for late notes, and usually only requested a packet of something sweet, like donuts, in return for a favour. Annie had gotten Hitch out of a particularly tough spot after almost being caught in the boys change room one time (Hitch resolved _never_ to go that far for a boy _ever again)_ , and Hitch was prepared to cover for Annie if her forging exploits were ever exposed. 

One thing Hitch had never managed to get out of Annie however, was boys. Before befriending Hitch and occasionally hanging out with her, when she wasn’t alone, Annie was often in the presence of two other boys in their year; Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. What puzzled Hitch about this however, was that the three seemed to be stuck in some weird, broken, love triangle. Bertholdt was hopelessly - _pathetically, really -_ smitten with Annie, but she barely spared him a glance on a good day, and Reiner was clearly pining after his best friend Bertholdt, despite how hard he tried to hide it. From what Hitch had gathered, the three were old family friends, so they gravitated towards each other naturally. 

Hitch was dragged out of her musings by a sudden bang on the classroom door. She looked up, and saw a certain brown-haired boy bashing his fist against the doorframe. 

“Armin!” Eren Yeager called out, “What’s taking you so long man, I don’t feel like lining up for my lunch forever!”

A head of black hair poked over his shoulder and grimaced slightly in Armin’s direction. “It’s only been a minute since the bell went, Eren,” Mikasa Ackerman chided. Armin laughed and apologised, grabbing his bag and joining the duo in walking down the hallway. 

Hitch made her way behind them, keeping her eyes trained on the mop of blonde hair as he chatted animatedly with his best friends. Hitch was intrigued at how this small, unassuming boy had caught the attention of her ‘I-don’t-get-along-with-people-so-leave-me-alone-if-I-don’t-know-you’ friend. As far as Hitch was aware, she had never seen Annie and Armin interact outside of a classroom setting. 

Armin Arlert was an interesting boy. In the early years of high school, he was quiet, but an absolute genius in the classroom, and it soon became commonplace for him to be topping every subject he took. But it was impossible to resent the kid for it, since he was _so damn nice_ all the time and would happily assist anyone with their studies if they needed it. Though it also couldn’t hurt that Eren Yeager and, more scarily, Mikasa Ackerman, would beat the ass of anyone who dared look funny at the kid. By now, in Senior year, Armin had a little following of kids who he helped study in the library every week. 

Hitch knew him as a part of the theatre club. He certainly didn’t look it, but he had a surprising amount of presence on stage for such a small boy. He was cute and short, with his classic blonde bob haircut that hung around his face. Armin had a sweet higher-pitched voice compared to the other boys, and was often cast to play younger characters, but he never seemed to mind, simply enjoying being part of productions. 

Hitch entered the cafeteria, glancing around and spotting the person she was looking for. She made her way over and plunked her stuff down next to Annie, who was picking away at a pastry. The other girl looked at her, frowning slightly. She probably expected Hitch to continue teasing her about the Biology class. Hitch just grinned at her cheekily, pulling out her food. Other people filed into the space, and a few friends of hers and Annie’s sitting at the table with them. Hitch winked at Marlowe opposite her, who just looked confused, and waved at Pieck, who stuck her tongue out in response. 

Hitch leaned over to the dark-haired girl, glancing at Annie. “I think Annie’s got a crush,” she whispered to Pieck. The girl gasped softly, hand clapping over her mouth.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Hitch nodded, still whispering so she wouldn’t risk a kick to her shins from the blonde girl. “She wouldn’t stop staring at him during Bio…”

Pieck hummed, lips parting to presumably ask who, exactly, Annie was staring at, but was interrupted by a _smack,_ as a pissed-off looking Reiner approached their table, whacking Porco on the side of the head, who spat out his milk, as he passed.

“What the fuck, man?”

Hitch decided then was a good time to zone out their conversation as angry swearing buzzed in her ears. She looked at Annie. Her friend’s head was tilted down at her pastry, but Hitch could see her eyes were angled to look at something on their right. Hitch followed her gaze, _very amused_ to see they were looking directly at the table where Eren Yeager and a certain one of his friends were sitting. 

Hitch supposed it wasn’t _that_ surprising Annie had taken an interest in Armin. He was extremely sweet and nice, and _very_ intelligent. Hitch looked at him as he turned his head and laughed at something Eren was saying. Armin wasn’t _bad_ to look at, she guessed. He had certainly grown up over the years, and there _was_ more of a noticeable change that she could see in him after the summer. He had grown a good couple of inches taller, and he had lost some of the baby fat around his face, showing off his impressively sharp jawline.

_Well, I suppose a late glow-up is better than no glow up at all,_ Hitch mused, a plan forming in her mind. She had made up her mind. If Annie was interested in Armin, what kind of friend would Hitch be if she didn’t become the best wing-girl there was in this lousy school?

Glancing at Annie and throwing a grin over at Pieck, Hitch stood, striding over to where Armin was seated. Slipping into the gap beside him, she ignored the break in conversation and bewildered stares sent her way, just focusing on Armin.

He looked a bit confused, but smiled at her all the same. “Uh, hey Hitch! Is there something you needed?”

Hitch glanced back at the other table. Annie was staring at her, eyes wide, a red flush creeping up her neck. Hitch smiled sweetly at her, and winked, before turning back to Armin. “Why yes Armin, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“See, I saw the posting for the cast list for ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. I saw that _you - “_ she poked him on the shoulder, ‘ - got the leading role, huh? Look at you!”

Armin blushed, hand drifting back to scratch at his neck awkwardly. “Ah, yeah I guess I did,” he said, eyes glued to the table. He looked at her briefly. “You got Alana Beck right?” Hitch nodded. “Congrats to you too!”

Hitch smiled at him. He _really_ was too pure for this world. “But there’s an issue, mister!” She poked him again.

“T-there is?”

“Yeah,” she frowned, sticking her hand out and flicked his long hair. “This is the problem.”

His hands jumped up to his head, clutching at the blonde locks anxiously. “My hair?”

Hitch nodded earnestly. “You turned 18, what… a couple months ago, and you expect to play Evan Hansen looking like that?” She looked him directly in the eyes. “You need a new look Armin, and I have just the plan for you.”

Hands still tugging at his hair, he looked back at her sheepishly. “I mean, I guess... I -”

“I told you Armin! I told you! That old hair is so middle school!”

Eren’s voice suddenly interjected into their conversation, his friend leaning around Mikasa, punching Armin in the arm. Armin yelped softly, rubbing the spot. It appeared that the hot-headed kid _had_ been listening in, after all. 

Armin glanced between Hitch and Eren, looking panicked. Then he sighed, shoulders slumping. “Okay, fine. What do you have in mind, Hitch?”

_Bingo. Bless his willing heart._

Hitch beamed, slinging an arm around Armin’s shoulders. “I have a friend, Annie Leonhardt, she’s in a few of your classes I think, and she is a great hairstylist. I can ask her to cut your hair for you?”

Armin’s eyes widened slightly, eyes flicking to where Annie sat, presumably watching them. “Annie? Are you sure she’d want to do that for me?”

Hitch began to stand, ruffling his hair lightly. “Don’t worry, she’ll be at rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, and you two can organise it then, okay?”

“O-okay?”

Hitch smiled, waved, and began walking back to Annie. Her friend glared at her when she sat down. “What did you say to him?” Annie hissed.

“Oh, Annie, who said I was talking to him about you?” Hitch teased, “So you _do_ admit you’re interested in him?”

Annie’s eyes grew even wider, and she began to stutter. “No, that- that’s not what I meant, I just-”

Hitch cackled, resting her hand on Annie’s shoulder. “Don’t worry Annie~, I’ve got you. See, little old Armin has the lead role in the musical, but he needs a haircut. And luckily for you,” she grinned, “I happened to recommend _you_ as the person who can do it for him! So, I’ll be bringing you to rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, and you two can sort it out, okie-dokie?”

Annie just stared at her. 

“What.”

“You are free tomorrow afternoon right?” Hitch asked.

“Uh, yeah, but-”

The bell rang shrily, making Annie jump. Hitch blew a kiss in her direction as she began to walk away. “Then I’ll see you after class tomorrow then! Look forward to it!”

Annie just stared, a surprisingly open, shocked look on her face.

****

Annie wasn’t sure why she agreed to do this. But for some reason, she found herself following Hitch as they walked to the auditorium, after the girl ambushed her at her locker and dragged her away. Annie was sure Hitch wouldn’t _really_ try to stop her from leaving if she decided she wasn’t going to follow along, but Annie couldn’t bring herself to walk away for some reason.

Her friend was too damn perceptive for her own good. Even Annie wasn’t entirely sure why Armin Arlert had caught her attention all of a sudden, but she couldn’t seem to keep her thoughts away from him these days. Annie _knew_ what a crush was, of course, but she had never experienced it before, previously content to ignore basically all social interaction so she could graduate and get the fuck away from her restrictive lifestyle.

She had always tolerated the boy more than others in the past years; he was just too nice and innocent and Annie couldn’t bring herself to brush him off like everyone else. But since the beginning of Senior year ( _or maybe it was the middle of junior year, after his performance in ‘The Book Of Mormon’, she wasn’t sure)_ , he became more _present_ to her, for some unknown reason. Maybe it was the way his face had gotten sharper, stronger looking, or maybe it was how his extra inches of height seemed to fill him out more, defining his lean but toned body, or maybe it was the way she wondered what it might feel like to be cared for by someone who seemed to love so _unconditionally._

_Stop. Why would he want some nobody like you_.

Annie shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts as she and Hitch walked through the auditorium doors. Hitch bounded off, spouting greetings to her fellow castmates. Annie was overcome with that uncomfortable feeling of ‘ _I am not supposed to be here’_. She stood awkwardly, until Ms Ral, one of the assistant teachers for the production, approached her.

“Annie, what are you doing here?”

“Uh...” Annie blanked for a moment. What was she doing here? “I’m here to talk to Armin?” She sounded like she was asking a question. “Um, about his hair.”

“Oh yes, yes that’s you Annie!” Ms Ral broke into a wide smile. “Armin mentioned it to me before. I think he’s in the change rooms right now, but you can talk to him when he comes out.”

Annie thanked her, feeling a little less like a fish out of water in this environment. She contented herself by watching and listening to Hitch and a group of some other girls warm up their voices, getting a bit caught up as they ran up and down scales repeatedly. 

“Annie! Hey! Thanks for coming!” 

She was jolted out of her stupor by the voice of the boy she came here for. Armin was dressed in a simple black getup, black jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Now that she noticed it, _all_ the people here were dressed in black. It suited him, his t-shirt fitting him quite snugly, defining his lean torso. 

“Annie?”

_Shit._ She was staring. 

_Pull yourself together Leonhardt._

Annie stood and managed to muster a small smile at him. “Sorry, yeah, you wanna chat about your hair now?”

“Sure!”

He gestured to a quieter corner of the auditorium, and she followed him and sat down crossed legged on a big fuzzy box thing. He sat directly next to her, meaning she had to turn her body to face him. She cursed her feelings for making her feel so damn nervous when she was near him. 

They didn’t speak for a moment, just glancing to and away from each other awkwardly. Annie decided to suck it up, asking, “Uh, so do you know how you wanna cut it?” 

“O-oh yeah!” he sounded flustered, hand reaching up to run through his locks. “I talked to Mikasa, and she thinks that having it short, kinda like Eren’s, but with like an undercut kinda thing?” 

Annie tilted her head, trying to picture it. _Not bad, Mikasa._ She could see it. 

“Yeah. Yeah I think that’ll work… I can do that.”

His eyes brightened almost comically, and he smiled so wide, Annie’s stomach lurched. “Really?” he gasped, “Oh thank you so much Annie, you’re the best!! I’ll pay you, if you want, I don’t want you to do it for free!” 

Annie was blushing now at his offhand compliments, and she shook her head. “N-no it’s okay,” she mumbled, ducking her head. He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. 

“I mean if you want to get me something in return, you can… you can bring donuts..?” Her voice trailed off as her cheeks reddened even harder, her eyes refusing to meet his. 

“Donuts?”

“...yeah, any kind really...”

Armin burst out in laughter. Annie couldn’t help the small smile that curled her lips as she looked at how damn _happy_ he looked. 

“Donuts it is then! I’m free on… uh let’s see,” he pulled out his phone, “I can do Thursday afternoon? Oh… is there somewhere you wanna take me to do it or..?”

“Oh no not really, I can come over to your house if that’s okay.”

Armin nodded tapping something into his phone, biting his lip lightly. “Yeah that should be fine. I’ll have to tell Grandad,” he mumbled, more to himself then anything, “But I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”

He nodded, looking back up at Annie with a grin. He slipped off the cube. “Thanks so much Annie! I’ll see you Thursday then!” He jogged off with a wave. 

Annie found herself waving back, a bubble of warmth growing in her chest. She heard a small ‘whoop’ from behind her as she began to walk to the doors. She turned, finding Hitch smirking at her, thumbs up. Annie frowned. Hitch just giggled, blowing her a kiss and winking as she turned away. 

Even her friend’s teasing couldn’t pop that bubble of warmth in Annie’s chest. 

****

Armin waited nervously by Annie’s locker Thursday afternoon as she packed her stuff away. He had caught her the other day and they had exchanged phone numbers. They had exchanged a few messages that day.

**Thursday, 11:30 a.m.**

**To Annie**

_hey annie! armin here!_

  
  


_hi armin_

  
  


_just double checking_

_everything is ok_

_for this afternoon?_

  
  


_yeah_

  
  


_cool! just wondering_

_if it’s okay if we walk_

_to my place? it’s only_

_about 15 mins away_

  
  


_fine by me. meet me at_

_my locker after 6th?_

  
  


_great! i’ll see u then! :)_

  
  
  
  


“Ready?”

Armin blinked. Annie was standing in front of him, eyebrows raised slightly. She held a plastic shopping bag in her hand; Armin presumed it held supplies for cutting his hair. 

“Oh, yeah, let’s go!”

Annie trailed behind him as they left the school grounds and he led the way to his house. They walked together in a comfortable silence for a while. The weather was pleasant, sunny with a cool breeze blowing at their backs.

_Why am I thinking about the weather, of all things?_

“Um, Armin?” He turned to the girl behind him as she spoke suddenly. 

“I was wondering if you had your license? I wouldn’t ask, it’s only that I don’t, and I live on the other side of town, and I’m not sure how long this’ll take, so…”

“Oh do you need a lift?”

She nodded. “If that’s ok… I can just call a taxi if not, it’s no big deal-”

“No, Annie it’s fine!” Armin interrupted, “I don’t drive much because I love so close to school but it’s totally fine! In fact, I’d prefer to take you then have you go in a taxi after dark…” He rubbed his neck sheepishly at that, feeling a blush creeping up his neck.

Annie didn’t say anything for a moment, but when he turned back at her he saw a similar flush adorning her cheeks. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

Armin was saved from his suddenly scrambled thoughts - a result of seeing her pink face, he suspected - as they approached his house. He waved her up the driveway and unlocked the door, letting her through first. 

“I’m home!” 

He waited for the usual response from his Grandad, but none came. 

“Hmm, he must be out getting shopping or something… okay, come upstairs then, you can drop your stuff in my room.”

Armin had lived with his Grandfather since he was four years old, after his parents left on a trip to Europe, promising to return after six months. They never did. Armin was too young at the time to understand they had effectively abandoned him; there was never a need for a missing person’s case or police searching - any police found them just fine and they simply refused to return home. He was put into his Grandad’s care after that, and Armin had never had the time nor the energy to really investigate or ponder why his parents had left him behind; he had always figured it was a thing to think about when he was older. 

But now he had just turned eighteen years old, and any memories he possessed of his parents were just brief flashes of feelings and sound. He had pictures of them of course, but looking at them had never really brought about that sense of _yeah that’s my family_ , the familiarity that came with being raised by someone lost on them and placed instead on his Grandad. His Grandfather had been willing to answer basic questions about his parents if he had them, but always insisted that if it was something Armin really wanted to pursue, he would have to do it himself. But Armin never did. 

_Maybe one day after I graduate…_

They made their way up the stairs of the two-storey house, and Armin let them into his room. Annie stood in the doorway for a moment and just stared. 

It was a fairly normal room, Armin thought, with blue-painted walls and the usual furniture; a double bed with similarly blue covers; a desk with a monitor and a PC computer that glowed with multicoloured parts; and a bookcase filled with a range of books. Seeming to realise she was staring, she walked in and placed her bag next to his desk, and slipping off her shoes.

“It’s nice,” she commented.

“Oh, thanks.” They stood there for a minute, awkwardness threatening to bleed into the moment, before Armin broke the silence again. “Should we go to the bathroom? I think Grandad left some stuff in there that he thought might be helpful.”

“Okay.”  
  


As they entered the bathroom, Armin realised that there was something missing that might cause a problem. “Ah, we don’t have a seat or anything…” he ran his fingers through his hair, thinking. “I could probably get one from the dining room, but that might be too tall…”

“It’s fine, we can sit in the bathtub.”

Unsure if she was making a joke or not, he looked at her, bewildered. When they had held eye contact for a good five seconds and her expression hadn’t changed, Armin decided that she was not, in fact, joking. 

“I mean if that works for you?”

She just nodded, setting her bag of hair supplies on the edge of the tub. She gestured for him to sit down. He clambered into the bath as gracefully as he could (he came _this_ close to slipping over on his face and making a fool of himself), and sat down. Annie gestured at a towel hanging on the back of the door.

“Can I use this?”

“Yeah,” Armin nodded, and she grabbed it, swinging it around so it rested on his shoulders, acting as a makeshift hairdresser’s cape. She settled behind him, causing him to shiver when she ran her hands through his hair suddenly, pulling it back over the towel. 

“So, I’ve got red and lime green, that’s the colours you wanted, right?” 

“W-what?” Armin turned around to look at her. She deadpanned. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then she broke into a breathy laugh, eyes crinkling with pleasure. 

“Ah, Armin, that was a joke,” she giggled, hand moving to cover her mouth. “You should have seen your face!”

She continued to chuckle. Armin couldn’t help but join her; her amusement was possibly one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard. He resolved to try and make her laugh as often as possible.

She was still giggling softly as she began to run her fingers through his hair, feeling it out. They lapsed into silence as she grabbed a spray bottle, and she began to work, wetting it down and running a comb through the knots.

“You have really nice hair,” she murmured, “It’s really thick for a boy.”

Armin hummed, slightly lost in the way her fingers felt running across his scalp. 

They lapsed into silence after that, the only words spoken coming from Annie as she requested him to move his head slightly to get the right angles. He couldn’t help his initial flinches as he felt her fingers run across his neck on occasion, couldn’t help the shivers running up his spine when her breath brushed against his skin. She would rotate around him, scissors and comb in hand, tilting her head this way and that as she concentrated on his hair, tongue trapped beneath her teeth as she snipped away. Armin was entranced by how utterly _focused_ she became as she worked on him; it reminded him of how it felt when he got drawn into a good book, or lost himself when he was singing a song on stage. 

Armin’s Grandad arrived home when Annie brought out the clippers, preparing to work on the undercut he asked for. Armin heard the door close, footsteps moving about downstairs.

“You here, Armin?”

“In the bathroom, Grandad!” he called out.

Annie paused in her work as the older man made his way up the stairs and appeared in the doorway. “Why hello there! You must be Annie, Armin mentioned you were coming over!” He smiled warmly at the girl. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too sir.”

“Will you be staying for dinner? I was just about to whip something up quickly.”

Annie glanced over at Armin. Armin nodded at her in encouragement. “Well, I guess if you’ll have me, sir, I’d be grateful,” she said politely.

Grandad clapped his hands. “Fantastic! I’ll set the table for three then!” His eyes landed on Armin, who was sitting in a pile of his own hair in the bathtub. “Looking good, Armin!” he chuckled, making his way back downstairs. 

Annie went back to plugging in the clippers. They settled back into their quiet rhythm, the soft buzz of the clippers and Annie’s soft voice the only sounds permeating the room. Finally, Armin was roused from his dream-like trance - induced by Annie’s soft fingers running through his scalp intoxicatingly - when she unwrapped the towel from his shoulders and ruffled his hair slightly, leaning around him to look at it from the front. 

She bit her lip, fingers brushing back his bangs. “I think it’s done,” she murmured.

They stepped out of the tub, and Armin hesitantly turned to face the mirror. His eyes widened, and he had to consciously stop his jaw from dropping. His hair was noticeably shorter, no longer in a bob framing his face. His bangs were the same length, falling over his eyebrows, but the rest of his hair was shorter, and it all fell over a short undercut. The result made him look… older? Less boyish? He wasn’t sure, but he knew that he loved it. 

He turned to Annie. She was watching him with a nervous look on her face, obviously trying to gauge his reaction. “Annie,” he ran his fingers through it, marvelling at how _different_ it felt. “It’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

Annie’s shoulders relaxed; she was obviously relieved at his reaction. She smiled softly at him. He felt something catch in chest. Suddenly, he wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. Almost trancelike, he stared at her and took a step forward. Her eyes widened slightly. His hand reached out with the intent to cup her cheek.

“Dinner’s ready, you kids!”

And just like that, the spell was broken. Armin and Annie flinched, the former jumping back almost comically, blushing furiously. Annie avoided his eyes, glancing around at the mess in the bathtub.

_Fuck._

“Uh, don’t worry about that right now Annie,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, fingers gliding over the new undercut. “Let’s go have some dinner downstairs.”

“Okay.”

****

After a filling dinner of lasagna, with his Grandad showering Annie in compliments about how good of a job she did on his hair, Armin got permission to take his car and drop her home. Ducking into the fridge while she waited by the car, Armin grabbed the box he was looking for. He made his way outside, and approached the blonde girl leaning against the car door, face illuminated by her phone. 

“Here, Annie,” he smiled at her, extending the box in his hands out at her. She took it, peeking inside. It was donuts, and her eyebrows raised in pleasure. “Payment and thanks for doing such an amazing job on my hair.”

“Ah… thanks, Armin.”

They hopped in the car, Armin easing it back across the driveway, and pulling out on the road. He was amused to see Annie eagerly open the box, examine the variety of donuts inside, before grabbing a plain glazed one and biting into it. She hummed in pleasure, eyes closed. It was possibly the cutest thing Armin had ever seen. 

“These are good,” she mumbled, mouth still filled with donut.

He laughed. “I’m glad you like them.”

Armin was astonished to see her finish three whole, good sized donuts during the time it took for her to direct him to her apartment block. He pulled into the carpark, and she shifted slightly, balancing her donut box carefully as she grabbed her bags. 

“Well, I’ll see you around then?” She stepped out of the car awkwardly, eyes lingering on him. 

Unsure whether to walk her to the door of the apartments, he ran a hand through his new hair. “Yeah, I guess,” he replied, feeling awkward all of a sudden. “Thanks again for the haircut, Annie.”

She smiled a bit at that, and waved softly, before turning and walking to the door.

Armin’s mind raced. There were so many feelings that had become un-suppressed in these few hours they spent together, and now he couldn’t help but feel like he was letting some crucial opportunity pass by. Just as she reached the landing, he made up his mind.

Jumping out of the car, he called out to her.

“Annie!”

She turned, looking surprised. He jogged up to her, face burning.

“I- I, uh wanted to thank you again for today. I mean, uh, like this, I guess..”

Before he lost his nerve, he stepped closer, looking into her wide eyes. He leaned forward, and gently pressed his lips to hers. He felt her body tense up, but she didn’t pull away. A few seconds passed, and he straightened. She just stood there, and the look on her face reminded Armin of a deer stuck in headlights. 

_Shit. She didn’t want that._

He tilted his head up, grateful for the darkening sky that concealed his flaming face. “Uh, well, yeah. Sorry. Goodnight, Annie.” He turned away, feeling like an idiot.

“Armin, wait.”

Armin froze, shocked. 

_Surely not._

He turned slowly, and saw Annie placing her donuts and bags on the ground. She pushed her bangs behind her ears and strode up to him. Before he could process what was happening, she grabbed his shirt, pulled him down, and kissed him. 

And just like that, it all clicked into place. He melted into her grasp, one arm wrapping around her waist, the other coming to rest on her cheek. She tasted sweet, the donut glaze lingering on her tongue. Her lips were softer than he could have ever imagined. 

They stood there, wrapped up in each other for what felt like eternity, but was likely only a few minutes. Eventually, they parted, hands still lingering on each other, unwilling to let go. Annie gazed into his eyes, a slightly starstruck look lingering in hers. Armin was sure he looked no better.

“Uh, well, you’re welcome, I guess?” she whispered.

A wide grin split his face. Chuckling, he pulled her in again. And again. 

Armin resolved to thank Hitch for her haircut suggestion as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this.. this turned out much longer than i expected it to
> 
> i'd be more than willing to continue this little au, i've still got plenty of more ideas surrounding it, if you guys wanted to see it!
> 
> but look me in the eyes and tell me that armin wouldn't make the cutest theatre boy?? 
> 
> this helped ease some 138 pain, hopefully it does the same for all you manga readers ;-;-;-;
> 
> thanks for reading! <3<3<3


	4. downtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mikasa takes some time for herself, for once

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short and sweet mikasa oneshot for TerraXAqua <3<3<3
> 
> leave requests in the comments, [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany), and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany)!!

Mikasa gazed up at the ranking sheet that Commandant Shadis had just pinned up on the notice board. The rest of the group huddled together around her, shuffling around as they peered up at the paper, exclamations of happiness and disappointment echoing in her ears.

They had just finished their second-year assessments, and there was an air of anticipation surrounding them all; they were finally heading into their third and final year of training.

_ Overall Second Year Rankings _

_ 1st - Mikasa Ackerman _

_ 2nd - Reiner Braun _

_ 3rd - Bertholdt Hoover _

…

Mikasa wasn’t too surprised to see herself at the top of the rankings. She had been there since they had begun training, after all. Not that she flaunted it to anyone, in fact, she couldn’t care less whether she was in the top ten or not, she just wanted to stick with Eren. 

Speaking of Eren, she could hear him taunting some of the other boys with his 8th place ranking. Eren had worked ridiculously hard over the two years of training that had been through so far to secure a good spot. Personally, Mikasa thought it was kind of silly of him to try and get into the top ten, he wasn’t even aiming for the Military Police; he had made it pretty clear that it was the Survey Corps or nothing for him. 

Of course, Mikasa would follow him wherever he decided to go. But some small part of her deep down was glad he wasn’t going to pick the MP’s. They would be leaving Armin behind if that was the case, and Mikasa couldn’t help but feel protective over her other friend, as timid and small as he was, and she knew Eren would be devastated if he died - she would be too, in fact. 

Mikasa turned and bagan to make her way back to the barracks, nodding her head at the various forms of ‘Congrats’ and ‘Good job!’ she received from people who saw her top rank. She spotted a familiar head of blonde hair sitting on the steps of the boys barracks, Mikasa made her way over to Armin, seeing him hunched over, engrossed in a book. He didn’t notice her at first when she sat next to him on the steps, but startled slightly when she tapped his leg to get his attention.

“Oh, Mikasa,” he chirped brightly, smiling at her, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come over!”

Mikasa felt her eyes soften at his innocent charm. He often got so engrossed in his books and thoughts that he would forget about his surroundings. She gestured to the cluster of trainees by the notice board. “Aren’t you gonna go check your ranking?”

His face fell slightly at that, head turning to glance in the direction of the others. “Ah, yeah,” he mumbled, hand drifting to rub his neck. “I’ll probably go later, when it’s less busy. I don’t expect anything great anyway, so…”

Mikasa felt for him, fully aware of his own feelings of self-doubt about his abilities. True, he wasn’t very physically adept like the top ranking cadets in their group, but he was ridiculously smart; something that Mikasa considered a better asset than brute strength in most cases. She smiled at him gently, hand coming to rest on his shoulder. 

“Hey, I know that you at least passed, and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?”

Armin met her eyes in slight surprise; she usually wasn’t very open with her more comforting side, but she had a soft spot for Armin, that motherly instinct in her overriding everything when it came to her friend. His face eased of a little worry at her words though, and he smiled at her gratefully.

“Yeah, I suppose so… thanks, Mikasa,” he replied. They sat in a comfortable silence for a little while, until a yell from across the training grounds made Armin jump and Mikasa glance up.

“Armin! Mikasa!” It was Eren, waving at them as he walked away from the notice board. “Do you guys wanna get something to eat?”

Pleased to see him looking happy, Mikasa stood, arm outstretched to help Armin up. They made their way over to their friend, exchanging an amused glance as he started running after Jean, yelling, who had attempted to trip him over as he passed.

****

It was the end of the year, and since they had already been assessed, they had a few days of precious free time, where they were free to travel to the Trost markets, swim in the lakes and explore the landscape in close proximity to the training grounds, or even just spend the days lazing around the site, doing nothing. To the amusement of some of the other girls, they discovered that Annie planned to do the latter, making it very clear with her death glare that if anyone tried to get her out of bed, they would suffer her wrath; a brutal ass kicking that would leave anyone (except maybe Mikasa) twisted in awkward angles on the ground. 

Mikasa had spent the time with Eren and Armin, going to the markets and just hanging out together with some of the others in their group. But on the final day of their break, a group of girls from her bunk - Krista with a reluctant-looking Ymir, Sasha, Mina, and Hannah (who wasn’t attached to Franz, for once) - approached her. 

“Hey Mikasa!” Krista greeted kindly, “Some of us girls were gonna go down to the lake and cool off, since it’s such a nice day. Did you wanna join us?”

The invitation surprised Mikasa slightly, as most of the girls had realised she rarely did anything without Eren, following many rejected invitations to do similar things over the past two years. But Mikasa admired that determined look on Krista’s face; not many people acknowledged the sheer force of tenacity the small girl possessed. 

But instead of dismissing the girls like she usually would, Mikasa considered the offer for a moment. She, Eren and Armin didn’t have any distinct plans for the day, - Eren mentioned maybe heading to the market again, but Armin claimed he was just going to relax and read all day - so maybe a trip to the lake would be nice. The water would soothe her slightly aching muscles at least; despite their break, Mikasa refused to go a day without training her body. 

“Okay,” she replied, much to the surprise of the girls, and partly, herself. But they recovered quickly, tittering in delight, Sasha linking her arm with Mikasa’s and dragging her away.

****

Mikasa trailed behind the other girls as they made their way back to camp. She had enjoyed herself down at the lake, finding the silly game Sasha insisted upon playing - she would balance on Mikasa’s shoulders and try to push other people over (Sasha had great balance, so paired with Mikasa’s steadiness, they weren't pushed over once) - surprisingly fun. 

Now, as they crossed a field of soft spring grass, she slowed to a stop and closed her eyes, letting the breeze push her hair off her face. Seeing her pause, the other girls stopped moving as well and all sat down in the grass, chatting. Mikasa closed her eyes again. Slowly, methodically, she pulled her shoes and socks off, stretching her toes in the grass. It was nice, smooth and gentle on her feet. 

Mikasa began walking slowly around, savouring the feeling of the grass sliding between her toes. She sat down, fingers gliding over the soft surface. She lay down, gently resting her head on a particularly plush patch of grass. Mikasa allowed herself to relax, letting her hard-earned walls come down, letting herself enjoy the moment for once. Her thoughts petered out, her ever present worries about Eren, training, and titans slipping away. 

Mikasa’s mind wandered to places she usually blocked off. She thought about her life with her parents, growing up in a secluded forest cabin, learning how to embroider, sew, garden, and cook. Things had been so much simpler, no need for constant vigilance, no need to be worrying about Eren all the time, no need to think about whether they’d live to see the next month. 

Days had been slow, and to the younger Mikasa, that was all that she had known, only having felt the warm glow of love from her parents, never with a need in the world. If anything, she was a bit spoilt. She barely remembered days where her unnatural strength didn’t run through her veins, days where she used to get a cold and stay in bed for a few days, days where the application of the tattoo hidden on her wrist was the most painful thing she had experienced in her life so far. 

Mikasa usually tried to ignore these memories. On bad days, they would result in her curling in on herself, where Armin would run to find Eren, and Eren would see the look in her eyes and not question it, would just wrap her up in her scarf and his arms, and she would allow herself to cry.

But today, as she basked in the sun, soft grass between her fingers and toes, Mikasa felt the joy of her old life, thinking, hoping, that if things were good back then, maybe they could be good again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh i love mikasa, she just has the most satisfying arcs overall...
> 
> though this did kinda hurt to write a younger, more hopeful mika, knowing what i do now... 
> 
> oh well
> 
> as always, thanks for reading!!


	5. the catboy phenomena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eren wakes up with a pair of cat ears and a tail. chaos ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a cute catboy eren for the loml unluckyolive <3<3
> 
> leave suggestions in the comments, [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bitterepiphany) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/bitterepiphany)!

Eren was basically running on fumes. After their trip to the sea, he, Hange, and Armin had been working day in and day out, figuring out what the latter could do, and how he could do it. It had been exhilarating, seeing Armin, his timid, soft, best friend, transform into such a terrifying creature of mass-destruction.

Though he would never admit it, Eren was secretly glad Hange’s attention was on his friend instead of himself these days; the new Commander could be overwhelming in their demeanor at best. But, when he woke up, he suspected Armin would no longer be the centre of attention anymore.

No, he figured Hange would be all over him once they saw the  _ pair of ears  _ and  _ tail _ that had just appeared on his body overnight. 

Eren had woken up like normal, but something had just felt  _ off _ . He lay there for a moment, before he realised. He could  _ hear  _ more. Something shifted above him, and he jumped. It was  _ loud _ , as if someone was rubbing sheets together right next to his ears. Eren sat up, ran his hand through his hair, and froze. There was something on his head. He carefully reached up again. He flinched back when whatever it was  _ moved _ , flicking slightly. What spooked him even more, was that he  _ felt his hand _ from whatever it was when he touched it. Again, his fingers brushed over it, causing it to flick. It was soft and thin, feeling almost  _ furry? _ Eren got the sense that you usually felt when you were touching your ears; he could hear his fingers running over the things quite closely, and it was  _ loud _ . 

Thoroughly disturbed and curious, Eren slipped out of bed, determined to find a mirror and see _what the hell_ was on his head. As he stretched and made to leave the room, he was paralysed again. He was sure that he wasn’t touching the bed anymore, but he could _feel_ _something_ dragging along the sheets. Closing his eyes, willing himself to wake up from whatever bizarre dream he had found himself in, Eren took a deep breath, and turned to look back at the bed. What he saw almost made him yell.

Eren had a  _ tail  _ sprouting out of his lower back. There was no other way to describe it. Long and thin, it dragged off the bed - making Eren’s spine tingle with the odd sensation - before hanging at his side, the tip swaying slightly. Eren’s mouth gaped. It looked like a  _ cat’s tail.  _ Hesitantly, he reached out and stroked it, feeling weirded out again by the sensation of the fur under his hand, as well as feeling his hand on the tail. The tail twitched and began to swish as Eren’s discomfort grew. He  _ had  _ to see if what he suspected was on his head was real.

Rushing to the washrooms, Eren determined that he  _ must  _ be having some bizarre fever dream, because that was  _ not  _ a pair of  _ cat ears _ sitting amongst his hair. Terrified, he watched as they flattened against his head. His tail was swinging angrily around too. Recalling how stray cats acted around Shiganshina, the ears and tail gave off the mood, right? So, as bewildered and scared as he was right now, it made sense the ears and tail were doing what they were doing right?

_ It’s just a dream. I’ll wake up soon and everything will be back to normal. _

“Eren?”

Lost in his thoughts, Eren didn’t hear the washroom door open and saw a blonde head poke into the room. Armin was rubbing his eyes sleepily, and he yawned.

“Is everything alright, I heard you get u -”

A pause. Eren turned slowly, looking at his friend. Armin was staring at him, a dumbstruck look on his face. Slowly, Armin’s hand lowered from his eyes to cover his mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. When Eren assumedly didn’t change, he repeated the action. And again. And again. After the fourth time, Armin took a step towards him. 

“Eren,” he started slowly, “What’s going on? Why do you look like… like a cat?”

Eren stared at Armin for a few more seconds. When he spoke, his voice was (thankfully) the same, but shaky. 

“I don’t know? I woke up like this?” he said, sounding as confused as he felt.

“Eren this isn’t a joke, right?” Armin questioned, head tiled, eyes wide. “You haven’t done something with your powers, right?”

“What? No! Why would I do this to myself?”

Armin hummed lowly. “Well, we’d better take you to Hange then. They might have some answers?”

Eren groaned, feeling his ears pull back against his head again.  _ As if being a titan shifter wasn’t enough, I turn into some kind of catboy? _

***

The next hours were, possibly, some of the most humiliating of Eren’s life. Hange literally  _ shrieked  _ when they saw him, and began peppering him with questions almost immediately, despite still being in their nightclothes. As he sat in a chair, getting poked and prodded by Hange and stared at suspiciously by Captain Levi, Armin was sent to tell the others about his…  _ condition. _

Not too soon afterwards, they heard a commotion down the hall. People were stomping down the hall, and loud voices permeated into the room.

“You’re fucking kidding right, Armin, there’s no way Yeager’s - “

“Jean, stop! He’s with Hange and -”

“Wait, so does he meow now, or -”

The door burst open. Eren had a curious reaction to this. He _leapt_ off the chair, ears flattening against his head, the fur on his tail rising in a weird way as it thrashed violently, and a strange _hiss-_ like noise emerged from his throat. Hange gasped, and Levi pushed himself off the wall as Eren darted to a corner. 

It was a bizarre scene, Eren in the corner,  _ hissing _ , Hange looking like they were about to explode from excitement, Levi, hand outstretched towards Eren, a concerned look on his face, and the rest of the Levi squad in the doorway, frozen in shock, gaping at their friend. 

Jean spoke up first. “What the  _ fuck?” _

Silence. 

Surprisingly, Eren was the one who responded.

“The fuck do you have to be so  _ damn loud  _ for?” he growled. All the yelling and stomping was irritating his overly-sensitive ears, and it was giving him a headache.

Hange stepped in then, more or less explaining the situation to the group, and Levi approached Eren cautiously. 

“C’mon, stop hissing like a beast, you brat. Ears or tail or whatever, you gotta get used to this now.”

He gestured back towards the chair, and Eren calmed a bit. It was weirdly comforting, having Levi just  _ being Levi,  _ like there was still some normality in this world. He made his way back to the chair, tail curling around it as he sat. 

Hange was being peppered by questions but they quietened as Eren returned. Levi glanced around at all of them, then exchanged a look with Hange. 

“You brats want breakfast?” he asked. After a chorus of yes’ he took Hange by the arm and walked out of the room, leaving Eren alone with his friends. Eren looked at them. Armin was staring at his tail as it swayed and twitched around; Mikasa’s eyes were rounder with shock than Eren had ever seen, and her hands clutched her scarf anxiously; Sasha and Connie had identical dumbstruck looks on their faces; and Jean had a weird mix of confusion and anger in his eyes. 

They all approached him cautiously, and they just stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then Sasha crouched down in front of him, her head tilted.

“You-you’re not gonna meow at us, right?”

And just like that, the tension broke. Laughter bubbled from Eren’s lips, and soon the whole group was sinking to the floor, giggling with each other. 

“So Eren,” Connie gasped, “You got claws hidden in those paws too? Is this some weird titan thing too?” 

“No!” Eren exclaimed, “I don’t know how this happened, and I don’t think I have claws?” He glanced at his fingers, flexing them slightly. Thankfully, no claws popped out to potentially scratch people’s eyes out.

“Oh, so this wasn’t some kinky thing you just wanted to try out then?”

Eren glared at Jean, who just cackled, leaning forward and slapping a hand on Eren’s shoulder. Then he whispered in his ear, “Seriously though, this isn’t some freaky titan power? You aren’t going to have little fangs and start eating kibble now?”

  
“Stop it!” Eren cried out, face flaming, ears flattening in distress for the umpteenth time that morning. 

“Ooh, they move!!”

Eren just buried his face in his hands. He heard Hange and Levi return and a pastry was chucked into his lap.

“Eat, brat.”

As he bit into his food, Hange busied themselves with resuming their examination of him. 

“Can I touch the ears?” they asked.

“Yeah, if you want to.”

He felt their hands gently tap his ears, feeling them flick automatically. Then Hange tried pushing back some of his hair…  _ and screamed. _

Eren jumped, falling off the chair as the others flinched, dropping food, cursing. He skittered away from the gaping Commander, ears ringing with the sudden noise.

Hange was pointing at him, hand shaking, eyes wide as saucers. “Y-your ears - the human ones! They’re gone!”

_ His ears were gone? _

Eren’s hand immediately shot to the side of his face, only to discover that Hange was  _ right _ . Instead of the familiar shape of his human ears, there was only smooth skin. His hair was long enough to have concealed the missing body parts up until now, and it  _ freaked Eren out that he hadn’t noticed until now. _

Hange approached him again, sitting on the floor beside him, and pushed his hair back. Everyone murmured in shock as the lack of human ears was revealed. Hange poked at the skin, muttering under their breath. Eren just sat in mute shock as they investigated him. 

Once the initial shock of the missing ears faded away, Hange had gotten up to discuss something animatedly with an exasperated-looking Levi, and Jean approached him. 

“So, we got ourselves a little kitty-boy now huh?” he teased.

“Jean,” Eren warned, ears flicking in annoyance.

The other boy’s eyes widened as he tracked their movement. “They’re so _weird._ You’re like _a literal_ _cat.”_

Startling Eren, Jean’s hand rested on his head and began to  _ pet him _ .

“You’re a good boy, aren’t you,” Jean mocked, causing Eren’s tail to flick around, “Yeah you are, you’re the best -”

His hand froze. Eren’s chest had begun to vibrate against his will, and a soft, rumbling sound emerged from his throat. 

_ He was purring. _

Jean’s mouth dropped open. “You’re not purring. You are  _ not  _ purring because I pet you.”

Eren was certainly purring because Jean pet him

“You- you weirdo!”

Eren’s face blushed beet red, and he hid his face in his arms, that rumbling purr growing louder and filling the room.

***

Eren had spent the day with Hange, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to him. They figured out nothing. When considering that it might be something titan-shifter related, focus turned to Armin for a bit, who vehemently denied anything similar happening to him. 

Now Eren felt as drained as he did back when he used to do hardening experiments, and he sat on the steps of the common room, enjoying the sun. Ears twitching at the sound of footsteps approaching, he opened his eyes as Mikasa sat down next to him.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi.”

She seemed oddly nervous, and kept glancing over at him. She opened her mouth, hesitating.

“Um, Eren,” she began, not meeting his eyes, hands toying with her scarf. “I was wondering… if- if I could, uh…”

There must be something big bothering her, if she was this stuttery. But Eren suspected what was up; he knew she had a soft spot for cats.

He gestured up at his head. “You wanna touch?”

Mikasa’s eyes widened slightly, and she nodded, a blush colouring her cheeks. Eren shifted so he sat shoulder to shoulder with her, and lowered his head a bit. Her hand reached out hesitantly, hovering over his head, causing the ears to flick when her fingers brushed them lightly. She let out a small ‘oh’ at the movement. Then, she seemed to steel herself, and gently carded her fingers through his hair, brushing over his soft ears. 

Almost immediately, his chest began to vibrate, and a purr rumbled out of his throat. Mikasa seemed to lose herself in petting him, rubbing the ears gently between her fingers and scratching his scalp with just the right firmness. Eren’s purr deepened, and she let out a small giggle when he pushed his head into her hand more when she pulled away slightly.

She must be  _ really  _ happy if she was giggling. 

Eren’s eyes drifted closed, his body betraying him and relaxing so much his head rested on her lap as she stroked him, purr vibrating both their bodies all the same. He was drifting into some kind of pleasure-filled haze of Mikasa’s gentle head scratches.

It was  _ really nice. _

Yeah. Eren could probably work with this catboy thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for everyone who read the haircuts oneshot!
> 
> i decided to continue it and have reposted the original oneshot as the first chapter [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29929728/chapters/73668186), if you wanted to check it out!
> 
> the second chapter of that just needs to be edited and should be up tomorrow!
> 
> as always, thanks for reading!! <3<3<3


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